Claudette Roche

Born in London, England, I have also lived in Montréal and Toronto, Canada and now happily reside in Los Angeles. Having traveled the path from the UK, then Canada (where I had to learn to speak French) and now to the United States, my aptitude as an accent coach is unique. My foreign students remark how my worldly experience helps put them at ease, that I grasp their frustrations, that I “get them”. I do not teach at them, I share. And conversely, my American students are amazed how my American accents are so authentic.

I am an award winning actress and a veteran of stage and screen. I am a recurring character on the sitcom, The Game, and have appeared on TV hits like, Cold Case and Without A Trace. I starred in my own sci-fi action adventure series, Starhunter. In all, I have appeared on more than 100 television shows, radio dramas and commercials throughout my career.

What makes me an accent expert? My background to begin with. I was surrounded by accents and different languages every day; English (Cockney, London, Manchester etc), Irish, Jamaican, Indian, Scottish, Italian, French (France, Morocco, Québec), Greek, Russian, Chinese, Polish, Canadian, New Yorkese, Lebanese…truly an international upbringing.

I am an autodidact. That means that I am a self-taught teacher. It has been expressed to me that I have a gifted ear that endows me with the proficiency to teach you authentic sounding lilts and rhythms. My mastery of foreign and American accents is extensive and I have been told that my talent to teach them to you is equally impressive. One of the most impressive dialect coaches in the business, Stephen Gabis, is also an autodidact. He created his own style, as well as learning the fundamentals like IPA and other techniques.

My teaching style is organic, very much like that of real life character, Lionel Logue, the diction teacher in the film, THE KING’S SPEECH. I create a fresh program for everyone. I cater completely to the student’s needs, goals and style of learning but always with a lot of humor. I do not teach in a stuffy, dry and dreary academic fashion. I want my students to want to come to me, to look forward to the lessons, always have desire to learn. And inevitably, they do.

To be uncharacteristic for a Brit, I must brag a wee bit and inform you that I recently won Backstage Magazine’s Los Angeles Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite Dialect/Voice Coach two years in a row. Backstage Magazine is specifically geared to actors but they have the same issues as business people. And in 2010, I was named as One of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine, also geared to the entertainment industry.

Many of my students are foreigners developing or improving their American accents. I do not call it accent reduction, as that connotes the idea that the American accent is the world’s neutral sound.

I work with many business professionals, as well; dentists, lawyers, professors, news reporters and public speakers, just to name five. Many Chinese, Korean, Russian, Ghanian, Indian, just to name five more! I had a wonderful time working with a general contractor. He has a Persian or Iranian accent. He needed to be able to communicate with his American customers but also, he was having a hard time talking with American women. Once his American accent was adjusted, he was able to navigate the club scene and he found a girlfriend and his business grew!

I have a perfectly Neutral or Standard American accent but at the drop of a hat, I can access my original Cockney then jump to upper class London, Irish, Scottish, New York, French, Southern US, Chinese, Jamaican and Russian, and many more. And it is my honor to teach you to do the same. When you succeed, I succeed.

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TO BE OR NOT TO BE AMERICAN

It seems more people want to hear and see me, so here I am!

In this very short video, I’m giving you just a super quick sample how to sound like you have a real American accent if English is not your first language.

As you know, speaking English with an American accent and sounding like you were born here can be a challenge. My goal is always to make you sound authentic, no matter what the accent is that you are learning.

Have fun and thank you for watching.

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MEMBER OF:

SAG (Screen Actors Guild)
AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)
ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists)
VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association)